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Stabbing Suspect Sentenced To Six Months In Prison

SNOW HILL – A Pennsylvania man arrested in June in connection to a double stabbing in Ocean City pleaded guilty last week to second-degree assault and was sentenced to 18 months in jail with all but roughly six months suspended.

Edward Michael Cockrell, 18, of Lancaster, Pa., appeared in Circuit Court on Wednesday to face a wide variety of charges including first-degree assault for his role in the stabbing of two men during an altercation on Coastal Highway on June 15. Cockrell pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and was sentenced to 18 months in jail with all but six months suspended and was place on supervised probation for three years.

Cockrell, along with his co-defendant, Omil Milfort, 18, also of Lancaster, were arrested in June after allegedly stabbing two other men during a fight. Cockrell was arrested shortly after the incident, while Milfort fled to Lancaster and was arrested days later after OCPD detectives tracked him to his hometown.

Around 3:30 a.m. on June 15, two men identified as Justin Pfieler, 21, of Baltimore, and David Grimes, 23, of Millersville, were reportedly walking in the street and impeding traffic in the area of 16th Street when they got into an argument with Cockrell and Milfort, who were riding in the vehicle. According to police reports, Pfieler confronted Cockrell, who was driving the vehicle, and pulled him out of the car.

The two men began fighting in the street when Milfort and Grimes entered the fray. According to reports, Milfort then pulled out of knife and stabbed Grimes twice in the chest. He then swung the knife at Pfieler, striking him twice in the leg and once in the back. Both victims were transported by OC EMS to Atlantic General where Pfieler was treated for his injuries and released. Grimes, who was stabbed twice in the chest, was flown to PRMC in Salisbury and later recovered from his injuries.

Cockrell and Milfort fled the scene in the car registered to Cockrell’s mother, but the vehicle was located about a mile from the crime scene at the intersection of Robin Drive and Judlee Ave. and Cockrell was taken into custody without further incident.

Milfort, however, fled the area and reportedly returned to Pennsylvania. Two days later, OCPD detectives tracked Milfort to Lancaster and with the help of law enforcement officials there determined he was staying with a female acquaintance. When OCPD officers knocked on the door of the suspect residence, Milfort attempted to flee out a back window, but was apprehended by a police K-9 unit.